Electric Review, Oct. 2004
consumer's and supplier’s perspectives. Covers…in broad terms and…escorts…reader through…subject with amazing deftness…address[es]security issues…crisp and clear…information…vital…to understand…changing aspects of…world. Interesting...Recommended

Review
I hate to say this, because it sounds so hokey in a book review, but this is one book I couldn't put down. Well obviously I could put it down, and I did. But I didn't until after I had read the first 54 pages, Part I of the book.

Part I of this book talks about some applications of RFID that is stretching the limits of the technology as it exists today. He gives a series of examples of how RFID might be used in the future, along with a history of machine identification in the past. Perhaps my interest comes from the years I worked in that area. But that was some time ago, and RFID was just beginning. Now I see the applications he describes and immediately I think of several others. This kind of overview of where we are trying to go is rare in a technical book, and greatly appreciated.

Part II of the book is a description of the current state of the art in RFID. Here is a detailed description of who makes what that you can use to implement what was thought about in Part I.

He finally concludes with a short what-if story about a suspect container on a ship headed to an American port. This is straight out of not the headlines, but the comments made by John Kerry during the debates. This is a technology that is coming, that is needed.

Book Description
With estimates of the market as high as $10 billion over the next decade, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is a booming new wireless technology being adapted by retailers to track inventories via a microchip tagged product. This book is a basic introduction, walking readers through the complete implementation and monitoring process, and offers in-depth coverage of related business and security issues.

Contents: Defining RFID * Underlying Technologies * Technological Competitors * Current RFID Applications * Future RFID Applications * RFID/WiFi/3G/Bluetooth Coexistence * Implementations * Potential Roadblocks * RFID Security * RFID Chips, Readers, and Application Sets * Short and Long Term Forecasts

From the Back Cover
TAG THE HOTTEST GROWTH IN WIRELESS

With a predicted $10-billion market over the next decade, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is a booming new wireless technology with an eager new audience—retailers. From global giant Wal-Mart down, RFID is being adapted to track inventories via microchip-tagged products. Popular technology writer Steven Shepard's RFID gives you an inside look at the entire arena, from the technology's staggering capabilities and potential, through insightful coverage of issues from vendors, implementation, and monitoring, to possible technical conflicts, market forecasts, and security.

A must-read for both technical types and retailers, this book's need-to-know contents include:
Defining RFID • Underlying Technologies • Technological Competitors • Future RFID Applications • RFID/3G/Bluetooth Coexistence • Implementation • Potential Roadblocks • RFID Security • RFID Chips, Readers, and Applications Sets • Short- and Long-Term Forecasts

About the Author
Steven Shepard is a professional writer and educator who specializes in international telecommunications. Formerly with Hill Associates, now president of Shepard Communications Group, he is the author of a number of well-received technical books including Telecom Crash Course, Telecom Convergence, SONET/SDH Demystified, and Optical Networking Crash Course. He lives and works in Williston, Vermont.

FROM THE PUBLISHER